


An early Christmas

by CabiriaMinerva



Series: Miracles and wonders [1]
Category: The Magicians (TV), The Magicians - Lev Grossman
Genre: Christmas Miracle, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Other, Post episode: s05e12, casting, early christmas, the world seed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:54:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23418580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CabiriaMinerva/pseuds/CabiriaMinerva
Summary: [Post episode S05E12: The Balls]What had happened next, had been weird. Like... really weird, even for their standards. Almost comically weird. For starters, Santa Claus had rescued them. Yes, the Santa Claus. Complete with reindeer-drawn sleigh. Before vanishing in the night, he had also left them an early Christmas morning, with a huge Christmas tree, candy canes and a present each. Except for Eliot. Then shit had happened, and really, he didn't care that much.But he should know by now that every quest ends with a reward, even for him, even when it seems impossible.
Relationships: Alice Quinn & Eliot Waugh, Margo Hanson & Eliot Waugh, Quentin Coldwater/Eliot Waugh
Series: Miracles and wonders [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1714051
Comments: 8
Kudos: 55





	An early Christmas

«Are you seeing what I'm seeing?» Eliot had murmured to Margo. They were on the roof of the Nave Hotel, noses up to to the sky, where... Santa Claus was on his way to rescue them?

«You mean Santa- _motherfucking-_ Claus riding his reindeer-drawn sleigh?» had asked Margo with her usual sharpness, her eyebrows slightly rising . «I do.»

He had nodded, «Good. Because I haven't taken pills in a while,» at this Margo had arched one brow, «I haven't. Not since before bottling up, a few hours ago.» She had tightened her lips a bit, but hadn't comment on that. «Anyway...» Eliot had sighed.

Then they had all jumped on board («Woah! I can't believe it! I've always been a huge fan of you, Mister Claus!» had said Josh, while Fen had kept shouting «THIS IS AMAZIIIING!») and were brought in the safety of their loft. First things first, they had cast a few spells on a closet to make it warm and moist enough so that Fen could... do whatever she needed to do in the intimacy of the bathroom and then just put the Seed in it.

After that, a significant amount of alcohol was consumed, as it was customary after the use of emotion bottles (if anyone noticed the odd looks that were exchanged between Alice, Eliot and Margo, they didn't bring it up). The aftermath was difficult for everyone, of course, but at some point Fen had a mild meltdown and had tried to hug Margo and so they had all decided to call it a night, before things could escalate further.

The loft had never been so full: Kady had taken Marina's old room, while the three spare rooms had been colonised by Margo and Josh, Fen, and Eliot. In a hushed voice, the latter invited Alice to share the bed with him, leaving the couches to Zelda and Marina... and Santa Claus.

With their emotions amplified by the magic that they'd done, the two of them could barely talk. They knew that Margo would bang it out with Josh and Fen would simply cry herself to sleep or sharpen and polish her knives (or both. Probably both). Kady... well, who the fuck knew what Kady was doing any more. She was probably managing her hedges from afar while hating the world just a little bit more than usual.

Eliot and Alice had simply laid on the bed, silent. Then they had spent the better part of an hour staring at the ceiling, still silent. He was as still as it was humanly possible, but Alice had kept fidgeting, which reverberated through the mattress. «Alice...» had murmured Eliot after a while, turning almost imperceptibly towards her. «Do you want me to...» He didn't need to finish his sentence: in a second, Alice was cuddling up at his side, her head resting on his chest. His lips had twitched into something vaguely resembling a smile, and he had stretched his arm under her, gently caressing her long, blond hair, repeating that «It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay.» At some point, he had forgotten: was he comforting her or himself?

Eventually, they had dozed off. It wasn't a peaceful sleep, but it was enough for them to rest a little.

They had woken up to Margo saying something about a tree, and presents and... what? Eliot had blinked the sleep away while Alice had retrieved her glasses, then they had headed into the living room, where they had been welcomed by... a giant Christmas tree.

Right in the middle of the living room, between the couches the others were slowly sitting on. A giant Christmas tree, complete with wrapped gifts and candy canes.

«It's not even December,» had groggily pointed out Alice.

«Yeah, well, apparently your friend has decided to give us a little early Christmas before going off into the night and possibly creeping into some little kid's house,» had flatly replied Margo.

«He left presents. For all of us!» had barged in Fen. «There's even one for me!» She had been so excited, she could barely keep from bouncing around. Which was understandable, since she had never even hear about Christmas up until 10 minutes before, when Josh had explained it to her in great, joyful detail.

«Has he now,» Eliot had asked with a tired smile before being dragged towards one of the couches. He had slumped on it with a soft plop, watching while Fen tore into her present: a knife sharpener, wrapped in a delicate, cerulean crêpe paper. Sure, he had never loved her like he should have, like a husband should love his wife, and he felt guilty (from time to time), but he loved her dearly, and this display of joy of her had warmed his heart a little.

He had watched as every single one of his friends opened their presents: Josh, a set of Le Creuset cast-iron cookware (which was by far the most normal gift everyone had received); Margo, an enchanted iron corset that was light as a feather; Alice, a set of three rings that looked ordinarily enough, but had to be enchanted as well, because when she had tried them on her offended fingers, she had started, stammering that she could  _feel_ magic again; and so on, until everyone had found and opened their own gift.

Everyone but Eliot.

_Such a surprise,_ he had thought with just a hint of bitterness.

Not that there was anything that he would have wanted to receive – other than the impossible, of course. And not even Santa Claus, as good as a magician as he was, could do that.

Still, he could have gifted him with a bottle of Courvoisier X.O. That would have been nice.

He hadn't said anything, but he had felt Alice and Margo's eyes on him while he sipped from his cup (which was only half filled with hot tea, the other half being actually scotch), pretending not to have noticed he had been the only one who hadn't received anything.

Probably, they would have tried to talk to him, trying to figure out why his gift was missing, trying to find some logical explanation («Maybe he misplaced it,» Alice would have said. «I'm gonna find the motherfucker and ask him  _nicely_ . The first time,» would have been more along Margo's lines). As it was, time was running out to save Fillory and really, they couldn't waste it on such dull subjects. That didn't stop them from worriedly staring at him, every now and then, during all the following events. 

But being stared at, he could survive. Hell, he had survived it his entire life. What was one more gaze?

The questions and interpretations and the psychoanalysis would have been much worse, of that he was sure.

  
  


* * *

What had happened next, had been weird. Like...  _really_ weird, even for their standards. Almost comically weird.

So, apparently the Seed had become emotionally attached to Fen due to their... er... time together, and it somehow reacted to her. Like, it would  _glow_ when she came close and would retreat to his dormant state when she was at least 50 feet from it. Which was... well, weird, okay? But also an advantage on the Couple?

Because the moment they started casting the (very intricate) spell that Fen had translated and memorized from the page, the very spell that was meant to convey their request to the Seed, things had started going ape shit. Like really, truly, ape shit.

For starters, Julia had gone into labour minutes after they had started. Which had complicated stuff, because cooperative magic always worked better when more people where in the picture, but they couldn't really do much about that, could they?

So Penny had taken her to the hospital and they had continued with the damn spell (which was not only intricate but also long). When they had almost finished it, the Couple had arrived.

Because of course they did. Whenever things had gone smoothly with the lot of them?

Right, never.

So of course there had been magic battle (who would have known that they would have become so good at it?), and bantering, and the Seed had also done some weird stuff, like growing a kind of vine leaf that had literally slapped... whatever. Nevermind, he didn't even want to go there.

Seriously, Eliot was just tired. At some point he must have zoned out, because the rest of the day had been a blurry. 

Alice had done some kick-ass spell. Maybe? Right after having given Eliot that worried look. Again. Why was she concerned about him not getting a fucking early Christmas present? It wasn't a big deal. He truly didn't care. Still, Alice was worried. Even while kicking the Couple's ass. 

And then Margo and Fen had put up quite a show, with knives and axes (and Josh staring in awe from a distance...). But Margo had still kept an eye on him.

_What. The. Fuck?_

It had been a really weird day.

And Eliot had felt as if something was off. Yes, he had given all that he had, just like everyone else, and in the end they had reached the Seed's consciousness. Soul. Mind. Whatever.

And it had worked? Eliot was still astonished that it had. And somehow heartbroken, as well. Because when they had finally reached the Seed, it (he? She? Was it a living, sentient being? It was still difficult to assess) had done the impossible: it had created a whole new world. A place where Fillorian people would be safe. Fen had cried, happy and sad at the same time. Eliot had been astounded by the realisation that he still had a heart that could be broken. Margo and Alice had taken out their frustration on the couple (and _that_ had been a sight to behold... a scary sight to behold).

The creation of a new world was in itself another sight to behold. It was warm and bright and...ineffable, truly.

And then Hades had appeared. Another fucking god, just what they needed. And a mopey one at that. Eliot hadn't really paid attention when Alice had explained to him hat their deal with Hades had been, so he just trusted her and Josh when they said to just trust him. Even if he was a god.

So they had trusted him, and he had done... stuff. To be honest, by the time he had arrived Eliot had been barely functioning. Not sleeping and casting a major spell can do that to a person. But he had somehow grasped the fundamental notions: Hades, good. Takers bad. New world, good. Dark king... broken, mostly. Eliot couldn't bring himself to describe him as bad because _he_ might have taken the same path, had he not had his friends (mostly to stop him, but also to just... be there for him, in their weird ways).

Closing his eyes, Eliot thought about the moment the Seed has started growing into something more. Because that moment had definitely marked the end of his life in Fillory. Fillory, whose inhabitants were being evacuated right in that moment by Fen and Margo through a portal they had created by another cooperative spell that had left them drained (still, Margo had insisted on going with Fen. Because she was Margo and delegating had never been her strong suit). Fillory, where he had been High King and husband to two different people ( _peaches and plums peaches and plums peaches and...)_. Fillory, where he had found something that had made his life worth living.

It was all gone.

As soon as everyone was safe, Hades would do... something? To the Takers? Whom would then incorporate Fillory in their dominion? (And the Dark King with it – Eliot knew he shouldn't feel sorry, or guilty... or even sad. Seb had done it to himself. But Seb was also just a good man who had turned something else because his heart was broken...)

Eliot massaged his temples, trying to ignore the growing headache and the noises coming from the living room. Yes, it had all been fucking important, but was he really selfish if he just wanted to sleep? He had had a few endless, exacting years, wasn't he allowed to rest for a while?

Now that everyone was safe (or would be in a few hours tops), now that there were no more beasts, childish gods, monsters trying to destroy everything and everyone... he just wanted to sleep. For eternity, if it wasn't too much to ask (but of course he wouldn't tell that to his friends, lest they decided he was a danger to himself and started checking on him every five minutes).

Someone knocked at the door, making him groan. No sleep, then.

«Eliot?» Alice small voice came from behind the wooden door. She sounded worried (it couldn't be the missing gift, could it? They had literally witnessed the birth of a whole new world, for fuck's sake!).

«Mhmh.»

«May I come in?»

Eliot sighed. «Yes, of course.»

Alice opened the door just enough to sneak in, then closed it behind her and gave him a tentative smile. «May I?» she asked pointing to the bed.

He silently scooted over and she climbed on the bed next to him. «Are you alright?»

«Just tired.»

Licking her lips, Alice nodded. «It was a trying week,» she conceded.

«Mph.»

She turned her face towards him. «Eliot...»

«That's my name, yes.»

«This morning...»

«God, Alice, I don't care if Santa Claus has forgotten me. It was just a little show. A nice one, and I am grateful to him for bringing joy to the people I love, but it was nothing more than that.»

Alice frowned. «He hasn't forgotten you. I-I wanted to talk to you, but then the Seed, Hades, the Couple... it really was quite a challenging day.» She smiled almost apologetically.

«Just another usual day of our fucked up lives, I guess,» he shrugged.

«You can say that.»

They remained silent for a while, both of them staring at the ceiling, then Alice murmured, «I found a note in my gift.»

«Did you now?»

«It said, _Every quest ends with a reward. Eliot wasn't forgotten._ »

Eliot arched a brow. «That... doesn't make much sense.» He slightly turned to Alice. «I mean, of course every quest ends with a reward, it's the whole point of _a quest._ We didn't tried to assassinate a King, robbed some psychopaths and literally create a new world for nothing. The Fillorians will get their safe haven, that's our reward. What does that have to do with me?»

«I don't know,» admitted Alice. «I'm just telling you what I found.» Almost shyly, Alice reached out to lay her hand on Eliot's.

Eliot sighed. «Thank you. Even if it doesn't make much sen...»

His words were interrupted by some loud chatter somewhere in the apartment: Margo and Fen had come back. Fillory was no more. Eliot felt his chest tightening.

Then, another sound, closer, softer.

A flutter, followed by a fizzy sound.

A piece of brown paper appeared out nowhere right above their heads, introduced by a white flame that disappeared almost immediately. Alice and Eliot straightened up, leaning against the headboard. After giving Alice a surprised look, Eliot stretched a hand and grabbed it.

It was a simple piece of brown paper, folded twice, but his name was handwritten on it. He searched Alice's eyes. «What...»

«I-I don't know, El. I... It seems harmless enough, maybe you can just open it.» She squeezed his hand.

Cautiously (because he had learned the hard way that nothing was ever _harmless_ ), El opened the note, silently read it and frowned.

«What does it say?»

He handed it to her.

_Eliot._

_The greatest quest isn't an epic one._

_There are no crowns to conquer, no villains to defeat._

_Sometimes, the losses are far greater than the rewards._

_And there is no coming back._

_But from time to time, exceptions may be made._

  
  


_I apologise for the delay, but to find your heart's true gift_

_I needed some more time, and to petition some old friends..._

_The choice is yours. Will you take the risk?_

  
  


_S. C._

  
  


«What the hell is a heart's true gift?» Eliot asked, confused.

«I think it's... what you truly wish for? I don't know, I got these rings that fixed my magic, so it seems an accurate interpretation. But Fen and Josh got a knives sharpener and a set of pots, so I might be wrong.»

«First of all, those were Le Creuset's iron-cast pots,» Eliot corrected her, almost offended by her absolute ignorance of French cookware. «Secondly, I wouldn't be so surprised if those were actually their _heart's true gifts,_ whatever the hell that means. I mean, Josh already has Margo, who is herself the greatest reward, gift, whatever. And Fen... well, Fen is Fen.»

«You might have a point,» conceded Alice. «What is that?» She pointed to a new set of words that had appeared after they had both read the note.

«Mh, I don't know. It looks like...» Eliot squinted, trying to make sense of the writing. «Is that Old Church Slavonic?» He wrinkled his nose in a gesture that Alice had seen him make a thousand times.

She nodded. «Looks like it. Do you want me to...?»

«No,» he shook his head, «My Old Church Slavonic is a bit rusty, but I should manage this... If you think I should?» He looked at her, hoping to find the right answer, but Alice opened and closed her mouth a few times before reminding him that the note said «The choice is yours.»

Eliot took a moment to think: should he really do that, read some Old Church Slavonic spell which he only partially understood? Should he step into the abyss, _take a risk_ , or should he be content with the (probably temporary) peace and balance they'd all managed to find at least?

_Q, know that when I'm braver, it's 'cause I learned it from you._

He squeezed his eyes shut, took a deep breath, then he proceeded to murmur a string of words, almost chanting them. Yes, he might be a bit rusty, but his mouth apparently still remembered how to pronounce Old Church Slavonic. Hadn't he been worried about whatever he was getting himself into, he would have been almost proud of his delivery.

The air flickered with electricity, magic sparks lighting up around them.

Eliot flicked his eyes towards Alice, who nodded encouragingly. It felt good, that unknown magic. It even smelled good, in a way that reminded them of a forest right after a summer rain. So Eliot kept murmuring the words, almost breathless as the magic saturated the air around them and the sparks multiplied, creating a constellation within the room.

Then there was a loud crack and the room was engulfed by a blinding light.

A thud.

Then nothing. The room fell into darkness.

«What the fuck just happened?» asked Eliot, his heart pounding in his chest and his breathing slightly laboured.

He heard more than saw Alice blindly feel for the desk lamp on the night stand. «Let me just...» A dim light illuminated the room and they looked at each other.

«I don't think it worked,» said Eliot with a small voice.

«El.»

«I... maybe I got some words wrong. I should have let you...»

«Eliot.» It wasn't his name that finally got his attention, but the strangled voice with which Alice had said it. He stop blabbering and focused on her, then he followed her gaze after the foot of the bed, on the floor: on the woolly carpet (of dubious taste) there was now a curled up figure with odd, white hair.

Eliot's eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat. Maybe two.

The figure twitched and they both started, pausing just a second before jumping out of bed and kneeling on the hideous, woolly carpet, their hands hovering on the man huddled up on it, not quite touching him for fear of scaring him.

Alice clasped her hands over her mouth. «Eliot,» she repeated incredulously, her voice hardly more than a whisper.

But Eliot's brain was working obsessively, trying to make sense of it all. He blinked. His face was the image of restraint, but underneath it every possible and imaginable emotion was bubbling, trying to burst out of his skin.

He did the only thing that he could do. He said the figure's name.

The figure slowly relaxed. So he repeated it.

«Quentin?»

Two hazel eyes peeped out at him from beneath long, floppy, white hair.

**Author's Note:**

> So, it all ends tomorrow... which is why I am up at midnight posting this fic, which takes place right after episode S05E12: The Balls. I wrote it using as a prompt the recap that my Tv Shows App gave for the finale: "Christmas comes early", which made me think "wouldn't it be nice if that meant that they all get a gift. Something important? Something that will make a happily ever after... less unlikely?"  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! And in case you wanted to drop by, chat or whatever, look me up on tumblr or twitter (I'm always cabiriaminerva) :)
> 
> PS: I must correct myself... the series may be coming to an end, but all that it gave to us... it won't end tomorrow 🖤


End file.
